20161225

"Today as Christmas is celebrated in song, gift-giving and remembering days of old, at the same time Christians are under tremendous threat, not only in the Middle East but in places like Pakistan, Sudan, Indonesia and beyond. Christmas celebrations are precious to us in terms of family, nostalgia, music and spiritual inspiration. But let's not forget our brothers and sisters around the world. Let's keep them in our prayers as we celebrate the coming of our Lord into this broken world."- Lela Gilbert, author, "Persecuted: the Global Assault on Christians."

Lela Gilbert, an adjunct fellow at the Hudson Institute residing in Jerusalem, contributes to the Jerusalem Post, Weekly Standard Online, National Review Online, and other publications. We recorded this interview with her in Southern California in the summer of 2016 in advance of the U.S. presidential election. According to studies by the Pew Research Center, Newsweek, and the Economist, Christians are the world’s most widely persecuted religious group. Many Americans do not understand that Christians today are victims in many parts of the world. Even many Western Christians, who worship and pray without fear of violent repercussions, are unaware that so many followers of Christ live under governments and among people who are often openly hostile to their faith. They think martyrdom became a rarity long ago.Persecuted soundly refutes these assumptions. This book offers a glimpse at the modern-day life of Christians worldwide, recounting the ongoing attacks that rarely make international headlines.As Western Christians pray for the future of Christ’s church, it is vital that they understand a large part of the world’s Christian believers live in danger. Persecuted gives documented accounts of the persecution of Christians in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and former Soviet nations. It contains vivid stories of men and women who suffer abuse because of their faith in Jesus Christ, and tells of their perseverance and courage.."Persecuted" is far more than a thorough and moving study of this global pattern of violence—it is a cry for freedom and a call to action.

In an exclusive interview with Muslim journalist Khaled abu Toameh (at Gatestone Institute), the prominent Christian figure, Samir Qumsieh (who founded the private Nativity TV Station in Bet Sahour) accuses the Obama Administration of failing to combat ISIS and radical Islam. Qumsieh says he is convinced that President-elect Trump will "terminate" ISIS. Qumsieh discloses that a "Muslim mafia" has been stealing Christian-owned lands in the Bethlehem area.
"I fear the day will come when our churches will become museums. It is my nightmare." — Samir Qumsieh.

Samir Qumsieh at work

For the past four decades, Samir Qumsieh, who hails from a large and well-respected Christian family in the town of Bet Sahour, near Bethlehem, has fought for the rights of the region's miniscule Palestinian Christian minority. He has even dared to speak out against the subjugation of Christians living under the rule of Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

He regularly receives death threats, and he has been the target of a petrol bomb attack.

"The solution to extremism starts with the kindergarten, with elementary school. It begins with the churches, with the mosques and the school curricula. Curricula are very important – Jewish, Christian and Muslim ones. They should concentrate on accepting the 'other.' If this idea is adopted, the future generation will be liberal and open-minded." — Samir Qumsieh.

"Every day we hear and see some radical Muslim clerics speaking strongly against Christians. Just recently, one of the sheiks was saying that Christian Copts should be slaughtered like sheep. Where is the Egyptian security? If I were in charge of Egyptian security, I would have this sheikh arrested immediately, and have him rot in a dark underground cell." — Samir Qumsieh.

"To understand the severity of the situation is, let us recall that in the 1950s about 86% of the population of the Bethlehem area was Christian. Today, we are only 12%. In Israel, by contrast, we have 133,000 Christians and the figure is stable. Of course, I am worried about the future of Christians here." — Samir Qumsieh.

We recorded this interview in May through the assistance of Pastor Roger and Diane Cochran of Calvary Chapel in Long Beach, California. Pastor Roger was awaiting surgery to replace his heart-valve- and boasted pride that it was developed in Israel. Shortly after we recorded his testimony of support for Israel, he collapsed with ventricular fibrilation. We called an ambulance whose technicians saved his life, got him an expedited valve replacement, which enabled him to live an additional one-third year. We dedicate this story to the memory of Zionistic Christian Pastor Roger Cochran. May his memory be an inspiration for all.

Democracy Broadcasting subsists on your generous support. We need to replace our video editing computer, which was disabled by cyberattack. Please contribute for what we've given the world over these past 10-years, and for what you'll enable us to continue. May you be blessed with a safe 2017!

20161207

Representatives of Reiyukai Buddhist movement from Japan visited L.A. National Cemetery on Veterans Day. We spoke with them about what their society teaches of the Empire of Japan's march to control Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Oceanians. We asked visiting Reiyukai leader, Ms. Yoko Takahashi, if they feel any blame for the deaths of the Americans buried here. We asked Toshiro Obama, VP of Reiyukai America, what they were taught about why Japan bombed Pearl Harbor.

Late in the video you can see visiting Australian businessman, Heath Williamson, responding to whether Australia needed "liberating" by the Japanese.

I guess I'm one of the few Japanese on Reddit. I lived in Tokyo for almost 10 years and attended high school there. From what I remember, the subject of WWII was taught something along the lines of this:

External pressures placed upon Japan by the US such as the formation of the ABCD line (American, British, Chinese, Dutch) as well as the trade and resource embargoes that the US imposed on Japan were seen as acts of aggression. This led Japanese military leaders to believe that there was no other option but to launch a preemptive strike on the US. The details of the war itself is just briefly glossed over, but there is a significant amount of emphasis placed on the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and how nuclear weapons are horrible and should never be used again. The unit ended with the moral of the story being that the military leaders made a mistake and that their mistake cost the lives and suffering of millions of people, and that everyone should live peacefully and all that.

Outside of school, I've visited Japanese museums and having spoken with people from that generation, the general consensus about World War II seems to be that it was a war that was fought in order to protect Japan from the Western powers. Views on the military leaders are range from neutral to negative, but most views on Japanese soldiers are seen in a positive light, hailing them as heroes who fought and died protecting the Japanese people. Racial animosity appears to be an unspoken but a significant factor in fighting the war (Japan liberated Asia from the whites etc).

Amazon's "Man in the High Castle" depicts life in America conquered by Imperialist Japan and Germany